NGO JOBS

Organization: Macfadden
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 31 Oct 2013

Macfadden is an employee-owned, international professional services corporation that applies integrated information technology solutions and program/project management expertise to help solve critical issues impacting the health, safety and security of the world around us. Since 1986, federal agencies have relied on Macfadden for mission critical support in the areas of international disaster response and humanitarian assistance, geographic information systems, compliance and monitoring support, knowledge management, and systems engineering and integration.

Macfadden is proud of our long-term partnerships with our clients, and our goal is to always exceed their expectations. From rapid delivery of personnel and funds to the scene of a humanitarian crisis to the development of sustainable economic infrastructure; from compliance support to maintaining critical IT financial systems, Macfadden delivers results. We provide responsive, flexible and innovative approaches and technologies to help our clients succeed in their critical missions. With more than 200 employees, Macfadden is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland with multiple client site operations worldwide.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

· As the communications specialist for the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG Center), the incumbent will provide services to assist staff in Washington, DC and USAID staff in overseas missions to plan, initiate, manage and execute DRG programs and projects within host countries.

· The communications specialist will support the implementation of a virtual community to link DRG officers worldwide to raise awareness about USAID’s Democracy, Human Rights and Governance technical leadership activities and programs. This community will be a vehicle to disseminate technical knowledge and documents to USAID staff and to host country counterparts in particular with regard to ensuring the effective implementation of DRG programs, under the Agency’s new DRG Strategy and other Agency priorities that relate to DRG programming initiatives. The incumbent will prepare written and online content for the DRG Center to use for outreach on DRG programs. The communications specialist will organize the DRG Office’s online communications efforts, which include blogs, websites and other online or social media fora.

· Additionally, the communications specialist will work closely with other USAID bureaus, senior leadership, and the Legislative and Public Affairs Bureau on outreach, communications, and event planning for major agency initiatives, conferences, and events related to democracy, human rights and governance as they related to DRG funded programs implemented by USAID.

· The communications specialist will work with the DRG Center’s Strategic Planning Team, office director and deputy and DRG technical staff to create and compile communications products that raise awareness of USAID’s work in democracy, human rights and governance and support the dissemination of best practices and lessons learned with missions worldwide.

· The communications specialist may have some supervisory or management responsibilities related to producing communications products; s/he will advise and assist the DRG Center on implementing communications policies and strategy for programs and initiatives in host countries.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

· Serve as the primary conduit of programmatic information from the DRG Center to communicate with DRG officers and program recipients in the field to convey guidance and best practices on DRG Center initiatives, with particular emphasis in the near term on Agency and Presidential initiatives, the Agency’s DRG Strategy, local capacity development with host country systems and DRG programs;

· Advise DRG Center on improving public outreach, specifically to target audiences in missions and among DRG practitioners in Washington and the field, assist with messaging on key issues and develop outreach products, including briefing documents, social media and graphic materials;

· Develop a proactive strategy to work with USAID missions and projects in the field to communicate results and success stories about highly visible and priority development projects in the DRG sector;

· Develop the DRG Center’s online presence via fora such as websites, blogs, and social media for internal and external audiences, including develop and post tweets, and content for Facebook and the USAID website related to DRG programs within host countries;

· Organize and manage the DRG Office’s virtual community with DRG staff in field missions and Washington;

· Prepare communications materials for internal and external audiences, including USAID’s DRG cadre worldwide, professional associations and organizations working in the DRG sector and the U.S. public; and

· Coordinate and execute internal and external event planning and logistics, in partnership with USAID technical staff as it relates to implementation of DRG programs/activities;

· Coordinate with Legislative and Public Affairs Bureau to schedule public speaking engagements and other outreach events for senior staff to publicize USAID’s work.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS:

This position calls for an experienced communications professional with the knowledge and the skills necessary to perform the assigned duties.

At a minimum, the individual must have:

· Master’s degree in communications, marketing, or related field OR;

· Bachelor’s Degree in communications, marketing, or related field with at least 2 additional years of work experience above years listed below;

· 3 or more years of professional experience in public affairs, public relations, outreach, strategic communications, and/or marketing;

· Public affairs/outreach/media experience with governmental agencies or NGOs;

· Communications experience in international development, or strong interest in international development;

· Knowledge of US government, international, and non-governmental organization policies and activities highly desirable;

· Demonstrated experience with social media tools, including Twitter, Facebook and blogs, and Google Apps;

· Outstanding oral and written communications skills;

· Ability to work as an integral part of a team, juggle competing priorities and make quick, sound decisions;

· U.S. Citizenship is required; selected candidate must be able to qualify for a government sponsored “Secret” Security Clearance.

How to apply:

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Only candidates who provide a resume and writing sample will be considered for this position. We recommend that you submit your writing sample and resume as separate attachments (MS WORD or PDF) to preserve formatting. The writing sample must be an original document of 4 pages or less, preferably related to democracy, human rights or governance in international development. Examples of format include blog posts, news articles, press releases, or briefings memos.

Please submit application materials via email to resumes@macf.com.